Simcoe County's waste management program will for
the first time, include a curbside battery collection week, this year
between Nov. 3-7, at a cost of $65,000.

A staff report to County councillors estimates the collection will
capture approximately 525,000 batteries, and its timing coincides "with
the end of daylight savings time when fire departments promote changing
smoke alarm batteries."

Simcoe County residents will receive plastic zipper seal bags, with the
program information, through the mail over the next few months, to
store the discarded batteries, which at the time of collection are to
be placed at the curb with the recycling box on the regular day of
curbside pick-up.

"Multi-residential locations which utilize caddy cart collection
service will not be eligible for the battery collection due to
logistical issues," according to the report. "Staff notes that
information on a free program will be provided to interested
multi-residential locations as an alternative to assist them in
managing batteries generated by their residents."

A second report related to waste management recommends moving the
annual Spring yard waste collection be pushed back two weeks starting
in 2015.

This year's collection, which will take place over the next eight
weeks, is already underway. The fall collection lasts 10 weeks. The nod
to begin two weeks later is weather related, in particular the record
levels of snow this past winter, and cold spells which is resulting in
a late spring, "which will affect the annual yard maintenance
activities."

"Staff has considered the yard waste collection dates for this spring
and determined that, as we have already advertised the dates, the most
reasonable course of action is to maintain the advertised dates this
year," according to the report. "While it is likely that collected
tonnages will be light in the first few weeks of collection this year,
due to the current weather conditions, we anticipate some materials to
be collected such as Christmas trees which were buried by significant
snowfall in early January and which are now becoming visible and yard
waste which has been stored over winter by residents."

The proposed schedule changes need to happen well in advance because
the County publishes an annual collection calendar, and requires public
notice.

"Two years ago, temperatures were in the high 20's during March, this
year we are experiencing the opposite end of the spectrum. The
County also covers a large geographic area resulting in considerable
variation in the amount of snow from the north to the south; adding
complexity to the scheduling of collections."